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Venable named new president of Capwealth Advisors; more

This week in new hires, Security Benefit Corp. welcomed George Beale and Jeffrey Kayajanian, CapWealth named Phoebe Venable president and COO, and the Department of Labor named five new ERISA Advisory Council members.

Also, Peter Carnathan joined Signature Estate and Investment Advisors and Hedge Funds Care announced that Dean Backer is its new president.

Security Benefit Adds Beale, Kayajanian

Security Benefit Corp. announced George Beale and Jeffrey Kayajanian as the newest members of its defined contribution team as field vice presidents serving the western U.S.

Based in Denver, Beale has more than 20 years’ experience in sales and regional sales management of 403(b), 457 and 401(k) plans, working previously at Securities America, MetLife, ING and Security First Group. He works with advisors in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states, from Montana south and east to Louisiana, including Texas.

Kayajanian, also a 20-year veteran, was formerly a divisional vice president of Hartford Retirement Plans Group. He has also served as national sales manager at State Street Research and was a regional vice president for ReliaStar Retirement Plans. Earlier still, he was affiliated with AXA/Equitable Annuities and Guardian Life. Based in Solana Beach, Calif., he supports advisors in Arizona, California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

CapWealth Advisors Names Phoebe Venable President, COO

CapWealth Advisors announced Friday that Phoebe Venable will become president and chief operating officer of the company, effective Jan. 1. Tim Pagliara will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive officer of the firm he founded in 2000.

Venable joined in March of 2011 as managing principal, working alongside Pagliara and a staff of 12 professionals. She came to CapWealth from the Nashville office of GenSpring Family Offices. Prior to that she was the managing director of private wealth management for SunTrust Banks, after having served a number of years as an investment portfolio manager and private client advisor.

DOL Appoints Five New ERISA Advisory Council Members

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced the appointments of five new members to the 2013 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans–known as the ERISA Advisory Council. She also announced the incoming chair and vice chair of the council.

The 15-member council provides advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. By law, members of the council serve for staggered three-year terms. Current members Karen Kay Barnes and Neal Schelberg will serve as the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the council.

Barnes is a managing counsel in the legal department of McDonald’s Corp. in Oak Brook, Ill. She is recognized as a leader in the 401(k) industry and has more than 30 years of experience in the employee benefits field.

Schelberg is a senior partner at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York. He serves as legal counsel to the boards of trustees for more than 50 multi-employer and single employer pension and welfare benefits plans. He has more than 30 years of experience in the employee benefits field as an attorney, author and professor.

The newly appointed members and the expertise they represent are:

Investment counseling: Josh Cohen is the defined contribution practice leader at Russell Investments in Chicago. He provides advice on fund selection, plan structure and participant support issues. He has authored numerous papers on defined contribution plan issues. He is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute and the Investment Analyst Society of Chicago.

Employers: Christina R. Cutlip is managing director and the head of plan sponsor service at TIAA-CREF in Fairfax, Va. She manages a team that works directly with nonprofit employers in the administration of their retirement and other welfare benefit plans. Cutlip has been active in the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources and the Council of Independent Colleges.

Actuarial consulting: Ronald Gebhardtsbauer is a professor in the actuarial science program of the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa. Previously, he held positions with the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the American Academy of Actuaries, Mercer’s New York City Retirement Practice and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

General public: Paul M. Secunda is a professor at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, and has authored books and articles on employee benefits law. He previously practiced labor law at two firms in Philadelphia, and is a past chair of the section on employee benefits and executive compensation of the Association of American Law Schools.

Employee organizations: James I. Singer is a partner at the Schuchat, Cook & Werner law firm in St. Louis. He counsels labor unions and multiemployer benefit plans on the operation and administration of plans, and on compliance with ERISA and the tax code. He also represents employees in claims against employee benefit plans. Singer has served as senior editor of “Employee Benefits Law.”

Signature Welcomes Carnathan

Signature Estate and Investment Advisors announced Monday the addition of Peter Carnathan to its Virginia offices.

With 20 years of industry experience, Carnathan joins from Fiduciary Trust Co. International. He also held previous roles at U.S. Trust, Mellon Private Wealth Management and Bank of America.

Backer Is New President of Hedge Funds Care

Hedge Funds Care announced Monday that Dean Backer has become its new president. He takes over from John Budzyna, who has just completed the second of his two-year terms in the post. Budzyna has been active in the organization as one of the original founders since 1998 and will remain available for help and guidance to the organization.

Backer has been a partner at Goldman Sachs since 2002, and is global head of sales and capital introduction in the firm’s global securities services business. He has worked closely with and has serviced the hedge fund and broader alternative asset industry for most of his 21-year current tenure at Goldman.